We're so attached to plastic, but we're careless consumers. Waste plastic is entering our ecosystems and food chains with untold consequences. Cleaning up our polluted world of plastic may seem a noble, but thankless task. However, some people are seeing economic opportunity in the mission.
Plastic Bank, a social enterprise from Canada, is monetizing plastic recycling while empowering those most affected by the waste. It works to prevent waste plastic from entering oceans by encouraging people in developing countries to collect plastic from their communities in exchange for cash, food, clean water or school tuition for their children. After collection, plastic is weighed, sorted, chipped, melted into balls and sold on as“raw material”to be made into everything from bottles for cleaning products to clothing.
“I saw in large quantities; I saw an opportunity,”CEO David Katz told the audience at the Sustainable Brands Oceans conference in Porto, Portugal on November 14.“We reveal the value in this material,”he added.
Plastic Bank was founded in 2013 and launched on the ground operations in 2014 in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western, Hemisphere, where close to 60% of the population live under the poverty line. As result of poor waste disposal and recycling infrastructure (基础设施),plastic waste enters rivers or is burned and poses the health threats to the local residents.
The company says i has over 2,000 collectors working in the country, with its full- time collectors on average 63% above the poverty line thanks to the income they make from the project. Through its app based payment system, many collectors now have bank accounts for the first time, and are able to ultimately escape ultra poverty.
“Nothing we're doing is against the laws of physics,”said Katz. “All the technology exists for us to solve and save the world. It's only creative thought.”
1. What is Plastic Bank aimed to do?A.Test out creative ideas. |
B.Discover new material. |
C.Promote plastic recycling. |
D.Stop people using plastic. |
A.Purchasing- collecting—recycling. |
B.Exchanging collecting—purchasing. |
C.Collecting- exchanging—reproducing. |
D.Persuading consuming—reproducing. |
A.Haiti attaches great importance to recycling. |
B.Many locals benefit greatly from the project. |
C.Collecting is an efficient way to recycle waste. |
D.The project has solved unemployment in Haiti: |
A.Companies stand to ban plastic consumption |
B.Technology finds its way to kick off poverty |
C.David Katz speaks at the conference in Porto |
D.Plastic Bank is fighting against plastic waste |
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The council want people to know that everyone who feeds the pigeons is responsible for the streets being so crowded with these birds. They hope to encourage the birds to move away from the city centre and into parks and open spaces.
Ten robotic birds have been brought into the city centre to scare the pigeons away and visitors are asked not to give the pigeons any food. The mechanical birds - known as “robops” - will sit on the roofs of buildings. They can be moved around to different locations. They look like a peregrine falcon, which is a bird that kills pigeons. They even make noises and flap their wings to scare the pigeons. They hope that the pigeons will go away before the city becomes the European Capital of Culture in two years.
1. Pigeons in Liverpool get fat because they eat ________ .
A.birds | B.seeds |
C.insects | D.high-fat junk food |
A.They want the pigeons to move out of the city centre. |
B.They want people to feed the pigeons with healthy food. |
C.They want people to keep the pigeons at home. |
D.They want to keep robotic birds instead of pigeons. |
A.make the city colorful |
B.drive away the pigeons |
C.help feed the pigeons |
D.show people directions |
A.notice | B.news report |
C.short story | D.advertisement |
【推荐2】In a heartwarming video that has gone viral, a herd of elephants can be seen reuniting and greeting their caretaker after 14 months at a shelter in Thailand. It’s for some reason that animals are said to be loyal (忠诚的) companions to humans and any animal lover will tell you that there’s something indescribable and unique about them. If anyone needed any more proof of their undying loyalty, this should serve as a good example.
In the video, the man, identified as Derek Thompson, who is the Save the Elephant Foundation co-founder, can be seen standing in a shallow water body as the elephants approach him. The elephants greet and hug Derek with their trunks and he pats them. “Elephants reunite with their caretaker after 14 months,” read the caption. The video has received more than 3.7 million views and more than 1.5 million likes. People have left tons of reactions to the video.
Earlier in June, another video went viral showing an elephant bidding farewell (告别) to his loving mahout (看象人) who lost the battle against cancer. The incident, which happened in Kottayam, saw the elephant named Pallat Brahmadathan paying last respects to his master Omanachettan, who had cared him for nearly a quarter of a century. The emotional moment left the entire gathering teary-eyed.
According to local reports, Omanachettan was known for his love for elephants and had been taking care of them for over six decades. Learning about the condition of Omanachettan, the owner of the elephant had taken the animal to pay last respects to his mahout. The emotional scenes occurred as the animal raised its trunk and bowed near the body of Omanachettan.
1. What do people think of elephants as companions?A.Faithful. | B.Friendly. | C.Kind. | D.Helpful. |
A.Few people reacted. | B.They were deeply affected. |
C.They loved elephants more. | D.3.7 million people viewed it. |
A.Became attractive. | B.Was damaged. |
C.Went crazy. | D.Spread quickly. |
A.It patted Omanachettan with its truck. |
B.It raised Omanachettan with its truck. |
C.It raised its trunk and bowed near Omanachettan. |
D.It greeted and hugged Omanachettan with its trunk. |
【推荐3】In the heart of Texas, “Bee Czar” Walter Schumacher is saving the world—one hive (蜂群) at a time. And he does it without wearing a protective bee suit. What is his technique? He “communicates” with the bees to avoid being bitten. Walter and his team at the American Honey Bee Protection Agency rescue hives from places that are unwanted—inside the walls of a house or 30 feet up in a neighborhood tree, and relocate the hives where the bees can grow and pollinate (授粉) in peace.
According to Walter, every third bite of food we eat was pollinated by bees; without them, life would cease existing. But saving bees costs money, so they have got to sell honey to make money.
Walter’s business once was booming with $200,000 in yearly sales. But after losing everything in the past three years, Walter wants to rebuild his honey business so that he can afford to rescue unwanted hives. With his oldest son Will and a small but dedicated team, Walter has a plan to transform their old family farm into their new headquarters, to save more bees and sell more honey.
Saving bees is a big affair. Will runs the business, trying to keep his dad organized; Walter teaches his younger sons Bodhi and Odin the skills of keeping bees, and Will’s wife Meredith is experiencing her first bee rescue. Walter also invites bee technician Jonathan who seeks inner calm by rescuing bees and scaffolding (脚手架) pro Sandy, who can reach angry bees in places ladders can’t and dreams of talking to bees herself. Walter brings audiences into the hive when he trains beekeepers to safely handle millions of bees Will plans to sign big contracts selling honey to businesses like restaurants and supermarkets, meanwhile undertaking dangerous hive rescues.
1. Which of the following can best describe Walter’s work of rescuing bees?A.Interesting. | B.Tough. | C.Tiring. | D.Simple. |
A.They are important to us. | B.They are not in danger. |
C.They can’t grow in peace. | D.They can bite many people. |
A.To find more hives. | B.To expand his team. |
C.To rebuild his business. | D.To train more bee raisers. |
A.Why Walter started the big affair. |
B.What Walter’s family do to save bees. |
C.Whether Walter sticks to his business. |
D.How Walter teaches his sons to keep bees. |
【推荐1】Despite the long-term warming trend seen around the globe, the oceans have cooled in the last three years, scientists said. It suggests that global warming trends can sometimes take a break.
In the last century, Earth’s temperature has risen about 1 degree Fahrenheit. Most scientists agree that much of the warning in the past 50 years has been caused by the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities, and most scientists expect the oceans will finally continue to warm in response to climate change humans have caused.
This research suggests that global warming isn’t always steady. The oceans today are still warmer than they were during the 1980s.
Regardless of the cooling trend observed since 2003, average sea level has continued to rise. The rising of sea level occurs due to the thermal (热的) expansion of the oceans from the heating and run-off from melting ice sheets and glaciers.
The recent cooling trend suggests sea level should have actually decreased in the past two years. Despite this, sea level has continued to rise. This may mean that the sea level rise has recently changed from being mostly caused by warming to being controlled by melting.
In a study before, researchers reported that in parts of the Antarctic, 84 percent of glaciers have drawn back over the past 50 years in response to a warmer climate. But the melting glaciers are not the reason for the cooling. The amount of ice and water from the melting glaciers is very small compared to the overall temperature of the oceans. Researchers have not yet known the cause of ocean cooling in the last three years but hope that further studies will make this unusual thing understood.
1. The underlined word “It” in the first paragraph refers to ______.A.the long-term warming trend |
B.Earth’s temperature |
C.the cooling of the oceans |
D.climate change |
A.One. | B.Two. |
C.Three. | D.Four. |
A.Global warming will be worse and worse. |
B.The cause of ocean cooling isn’t clear. |
C.Sea level has stopped rising for the past two years. |
D.The rising of sea level will cause many deaths. |
A.The Rising of Sea Level |
B.The Warming Earth |
C.The Oceans on earth |
D.Global Warming Takes a Break |
【推荐2】We’re often reminded of the importance of preserving the planet as we see it for future generations — and children at St Oswald’s CE Primary School Chester certainly agree.
Nine-year-old Isobel Kelleher from the school’s Hummingbirds class thinks adults need to take note.“Sometimes they can be busy and I don’t think they think they can make a difference,but if everyone does a little bit it all adds up,” she tells HuffPostUK.“We started looking at plastic pollution in our oceans and the things like plastic bags that are polluting them,” she says.“Fish can eat the plastic and they can die,or we might even eat the fish ourselves.”
Mr Timms, Isobel’s teacher, has been spearheading a new project at the school which lets children loose creatively to raise the awareness of the need to be more environmentally friendly. The entire Hummingbirds class, which is made up of nine-year-old and ten-year-old pupils, has been busy writing poems and creating online video adverts to warn adults about the serious situation of our oceans and wildlife.
Mr Timms thinks children have an important role to play in teaching us how to take care of the things around us.“We sometimes overlook how much we can really learn from children,” he says.“It has been really hard to believe having parents come in saying that their children have been asking them to stop using plastic, and to recycle more, and even stopping them using plastic straws.”
Mr Timms is proud of his Hummingbirds class.“The message that they would like to send to world is simple:stopping this isn’t someone else’s job,and it won’t be OK if we just leave it.”
1. What is the purpose of the school project?A.To help adults to learn more about their kids. |
B.To remind adults to be friendly to the environment. |
C.To persuade students to stop using plastic bags. |
D.To teach students how to write poems creatively. |
A.They just pretend to be busy. |
B.They haven’t done their part well. |
C.They can do nothing to stop pollution. |
D.They have started to care about the ocean. |
A.To prove kids are creative in teaching. |
B.To attract people to support his work. |
C.To have adults care about education. |
D.To show the effects of the project. |
【推荐3】Burning coal for energy adds planet-warming carbon dioxide(CO2) to Earth's atmosphere. As the planet heats up, experts warn that simply cutting greenhouse gas emissions(排放) will not be enough to avoid global warming. CO2 must also be remcved from the atmosphere.
Existing experimental machines that pull CO2 directly from the air are too expensive to be widely used. But a new effective technology to remove CO2 already exists. It is not expensive and easy. It is forests. Planting trees and watching forests are effective ways to clean the air.
Forests used to cover large areas of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. In the state of West Virginia, coal mining left the land there bare, without trees. Over the years, coal mining and cutting forests took over 90 percent of the red spruce(云杉) forests.
Chris Barton works for the University of Kentucky. He started a group called Green Forests Work, aiming to put trees back on the roughly 400 , 000 hectares of land.
However, Barton explains the land has problems. "If you planted trees on these places, they just didn't grow. The ground was too hard. Water didn't infiltrate(渗透). The trees can't root. Oxygen can't circulate in those environments. "Using heavy equipment, workers tear the ground. In this way, the trees put down roots.
Barton says not everyone believes the solution is a good idea. "We've had a lot of doubtful look at us twice from people. But after we do it, there's no question that it was the right thing to do. "And it has worked. Forests are coming back to the grounds.
Scientists say that, in West Virginia alone, restoring red spruce forests to the area could send what is equal to 56 million barrels(桶)of oil into the ground. But it will take time—a long time. Around the world, experts say, nature offers powerful tools to fight climate change. But patience is needed. Nature works, but slowly, in its own time.
1. What is the economical and effective way to remove CO2 from the air?A.Inventing new and powerful machines. | B.Cutting greenhouse gas emissions. | C.Making use of natural gases instead of coal. | D.Planting trees and protecting forests. |
A.Cry. | B.Repair. | C.Destroy. | D.Cover. |
A.oxygen is not enough for trees to grow there |
B.too many rocks had made it hard to plant trees |
C.coal mining has spoiled the land through years |
D.there is no water for trees to grow there |
A.a painful process | B.a slow process | C.a creative process | D.a learning process |
【推荐1】Have you ever stayed in a hotel?Most Chinese hotels often provide guests with things like disposable(一次性的)toothbrushes,toothpaste,shampoo and slippers.Many guests like the idea because they don't have to bring their own.But,if you travel to Beijing,remember to bring your own things.Starting from June,some hotels in Beijing will no longer provide guests with these disposables.They want to ask people to use less disposable things.
Many disposable things are made of plastic.People throw them away after only using them once.It is a waste of natural resources(资源)and is very bad for the environment.Do you know,one Chinese person makes as much as 400kg of waste a year!Most of that waste comes from disposable things.In Beijing,people throw away about 19,000 tons of plastic bags and 1,320 tons of plastic lunch bowls every year!Plastic can take between 100 and 400 years to break down.So theless plastic we throw out,the better.So,wherever you travel,bring your own things and use them again and again.
Back at home and school,you can also do something to make our world a better place.Try to do these things in your daily life:Use cloth shopping bags,not plastic ones.After using a plastic bag,wash it out and let it dry.Then you can use it over and over again.Do not use paper cups.At your school canteen(食堂),use your own bowl and chopsticks instead of disposable ones.
1. Why do many hotels provide guests with some disposable things?A.Let their guests be convenient during their travelling. |
B.Hope their guests use less disposable things. |
C.Wish their guests to save money. |
D.Want their guests to use more disposable things. |
A.cheap food and drink | B.disposable things |
C.good service | D.free TV programmes |
A.Many disposable things are made of plastic. |
B.Throwing disposable things away is a waste of natural resources. |
C.Plastic is very bad for the environment. |
D.Plastic breaks down easily. |
A.Use shopping bags made of plastic. |
B.Do not throw away paper cups. |
C.Use disposable plates,bowls and chopsticks. |
D.Do not forget to reuse daily necessities(日用品). |
A.people don't like disposable things at all |
B.we can't use paper or plastic bowls at school |
C.we should use less plastic things and protect our environment |
D.hotels won't provide disposable things because they want to save money |
【推荐2】Ocean Noise Pollution
Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.
The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.
Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of 120 decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of 195 would have the same effect.
Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of 120 decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises above that level can frighten and confuse whales.
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed (流血) and become infected (感染).
Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of 120 decibels. They say such a limit is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?A.The sound of a car. |
B.The sound of voices. |
C.Manmade noise pollution. |
D.The sound of steps. |
A.sounds made by animals themselves |
B.ocean drilling |
C.underwater earthquakes |
D.the breaking of ice fields |
A.They won’t be confused by noises. |
B.They are deaf to noises. |
C.Their ability to reproduce will be lowered by high level noises. |
D.Their hearing will be damaged by high level noises. |
A.They will work hard to reduce ocean noise pollution. |
B.They will protect animals from harmful noises. |
C.They will try to set a limit of 120 decibels. |
D.They will study the effect of ocean noise pollution. |
【推荐3】Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
Men have been polluting the earth. Many years ago, the pollution was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, men moved to another place.
Air pollution is now the most serious. Air makes people sick. And lots of people now are trying to use something to clear the air. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us become angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight air pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air.
Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. It is true that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.
Although most of the pollution is caused by us, we are the ones who can change the situation. The earth is our home. We must take care of it. And we must pay more attention to the information in pollution at the same time.
1. Why was the pollution in the past less serious?A.Because life in the past was easier. | B.Because there were not so many people. |
C.Because men stayed in one place. | D.Because people used less coal to make fire. |
A.Air pollution. | B.Noise pollution. |
C.Light pollution. | D.Water pollution. |
A.Try to use something to clear the air. | B.Ask people to use public transport more. |
C.Stop putting dirty smoke into the air. | D.Encourage people to move to another place. |
A.To prove life is much easier today. | B.To call on us to take care of our earth. |
C.To show the danger of pollution. | D.To introduce how to fight air pollution. |
【推荐1】In a year that has been characterized by the restriction, there are two activities I have found myself doing more of: running and writing.
At first glance, these two passions seem to be completely opposite. When I write, I’ll retreat (缩进) into my head, where I dig memories, ideas, characters to shape into stories. When I run, I’ll fully inhabit my body. The sounds and feelings of physical effort—foot strike, heartbeat and sweat—drown out the thoughts.
Despite their differences, though, there are similarities. Running and writing are both things we do alone. They both demand at times that we dig deep, keep going and never give up. I’ve also found that running can be complementary to writing. If I’ve been sat for hours, there’s nothing more restorative than getting out for a run. Sometimes when I’m least expecting it, solutions to tricky twists present themselves and ideas drop in as if the movement of running has itself shaken things into place. On the other hand, running especially long-distances has taught me to be brave, to look inside myself to see if there’s more to give. It has also taught me patience.
I’m far from the first runner to notice that running can help the writing process. Reflecting on her writing methods in an article in The New York Times, author and lifelong runner Joyce Oates wrote: Running seems to allow me, ideally, to have an expanded consciousness in which I can imagine what I’m writing as a film or a dream. I can’t say there is an expanded consciousness when I put on my trainers after a hard day’s writing, but there’s some evidence that working up a sweat can also fire up the imagination.
It’s not clear what’s behind the creativity though increased oxygen to the brain has been shown to help cognitive processes, so there’s no reason to think it’s useless. Whatever the link between running and creativity is, next time I find myself struggling to find the right words in the face of a deadline, I’ll run for it.
1. What does running contribute to the author’s writing process?A.Exhaustion and challenges. | B.Relaxation and consciousness. |
C.Affection and physical benefits. | D.Inspiration and creative solutions. |
A.Really helpful. | B.Clearly different. |
C.Negatively related. | D.Potentially dangerous. |
A.She is stressed over struggles and deadlines. |
B.She challenges the claim that running improves creativity. |
C.She is determined to find out why running helps creativity. |
D.She will keep running in order to help her writing process. |
A.What I Have Learned From Running |
B.Running May Fire up the Imagination |
C.Differences Between Running and Writing |
D.Science Says Running Is Good for One’s Health |
【推荐2】When you’re on a fishing boat, you may see flocks of birds following your tracks, hoping to catch a snack. Now scientists say they can use those birds’ behavior to track illegal fishing boats.
Here’s how it worked: Researchers attached data recorders to the backs of 169 albatrosses (信天翁) in the Southern and Indian oceans. The devices weighed only an ounce and a half, but they included a GPS and were able to detect the presence and intensity of radar signals coming from boats. That information was then transmitted by satellite, so the researchers could track the locations of the birds — and thus the radar-emitting boats — in real time.
The scientists then cross-checked the data against the known locations of boats, gathered from a system that boats use to declare themselves, called the Automatic Identification System (AIS). And differences appeared frequently.
More than a third of the times the birds’ recorders detected radar signals, and therefore a boat, no such boat appeared in the official log — meaning that the vehicles had likely switched off their Automatic Identification Systems — something the researchers say probably happens in illegal fishing operations.
The work suggests birds could be an effective boat-monitoring tool, as long as illegal fishing operations don’t target the birds. Fortunately, such a task would be difficult.
“Around fishing boats, you can get hundreds of birds at any one time that are all flying around. So it’s not really possible to target a specific bird. And the birds with recorders on are not marked in any way. So it’s difficult for fishermen to pick out a specific bird,” said study author Samantha Patrick, a marine biologist at the University of Liverpool.
Patrick’s bigger concern is that albatrosses are often trapped by fishing lines. And though regulations have been established to prevent that happening, illegal boats don’t necessarily obey.
1. What behavior of albatrosses can be used to track illegal fishing boats?A.Seeking snacks on a boat. | B.Following a boat to catch food. |
C.Monitoring the locations of the boats. | D.Keeping an eye open for illegal activities. |
A.To carry a GPS. | B.To record the birds’ behavior. |
C.To detect radar signals from boats. | D.To help satellite transmit information. |
A.They needn’t declare themselves. |
B.They were probably fishing illegally. |
C.They didn’t want to send radar signals. |
D.They wanted to avoid being followed by albatrosses. |
A.Birds — Humans’ Friends |
B.Data Recorders — A Helper to Albatrosses |
C.AIS — A System to Locate Illegal Fishing Boats |
D.Albatrosses — A Tool to Monitor Illegal Fishing Boats |
【推荐3】The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China’s leading aircraft maker, created the country’s first fully solar-powered drone (无人机). The large drone, Qimingxing 50, or Morning Star 50, took off at 5:50 pm on September 3rd, 2022, from an airport in Yulin of Shanxi Province and stayed in the air for 26 minutes before landing on the same runway. AVIC said that all systems of the unmanned plane functioned well on its first flight.
Powered by six electric motors with solar batteries, the drone is designed to conduct long-time operations in near space. Near space is that part of Earth’s atmosphere at altitudes of 20 to 100 kilometers. It is above the top altitudes of commercial airliners but below orbiting satellites.
Qimingxing 50, also called “quasi-satellite”, features high operational efficiency and eco-friendliness and will be tasked with high-altitude reconnaissance (侦察), forestry fire monitoring, atmospheric environmental inspection, aerial mapping, communication signal relay and other operations.
“Thanks to its capability to conduct very long endurance flights in near space, the drone can essentially become a substitute for satellites,” a Chinese aerospace expert said. Satellite services are not always available due to the limited number of satellites and relatively fixed schedules of overhead passes. In time-sensitive missions, near-space drones can offset these disadvantages, the expert said, noting that satellite services could also be damaged in wartime, so near-space drones could replace them in this occasion.
The successful first flight of the Qimingxing-50 lays a solid foundation for the development of key technologies in the country’s new energy field, the composite (复合的) material field, which will enhance China’s ability to perform tasks in near space and over far oceans. AVIC will seize the opportunity to increase investment and speed up the development of large solar-powered unmanned aircraft.
1. What do we know about Qimingxing 50?A.It is China’s first fully solar-powered drone. |
B.It took off at 5:50 pm on December 3rd, 2022. |
C.It is powered by sixteen electric motors with solar batteries. |
D.It stayed in the air for 226 minutes before landing on the same runway. |
a. forestry fire monitoring
b. high-altitude reconnaissance
c. at altitudes of 20 to 100 meters
d. atmospheric environmental inspection
A.a, b, c | B.b, c, d | C.a, c, d | D.a, b, d |
A.strength. | B.basis. | C.advantage. | D.inspiration. |
A.It will replace satellites. |
B.It can be used as commercial airliners. |
C.It can fly above the top altitude of orbiting satellites. |
D.It may be used to take on certain missions in wartime. |